Best Places to Visit in Haridwar

Quick Answer

For haridwar sightseeing, build your day around the evening Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri as the anchor.

Use the daylight hours for Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi temple visits via ropeway, factoring in the midday darshan breaks at both.

Add Rajaji National Park if you have an extra half day and want a break from the temple circuit.

Best Places to Visit in Haridwar

Haridwar is one of India’s holiest cities, sitting exactly where the Ganga leaves the Himalayan foothills and enters the plains.

Here are the best places to visit in Haridwar, whether you have a few hours or a full day, along with real prices and distances to help you plan. For general first-visit tips, see our full Haridwar travel guide.

Har Ki Pauri

Har ki pauri is Haridwar’s most iconic ghat and the spiritual center of the city.

Every evening, thousands gather here for the Ganga Aarti, a ritual of lamps, chants, and floating diyas that is worth planning your entire visit around.

Ganga Aarti planning tips:

• Evening aarti timing shifts slightly by season.
• It is worth checking the exact time on arrival.
• The aarti consistently draws large crowds.
• Arrive at least 30 to 45 minutes early to secure a good viewing spot along the ghat. For the exact schedule and the best spots to watch from, see our Ganga Aarti timing guide.

The evening Ganga Aarti can serve as the perfect anchor for planning the rest of your day in Haridwar.

Mansa Devi Temple

Perched atop Bilwa Parvat in the Shivalik hills, Mansa Devi is reachable either by a roughly 1.5 km uphill trek.

The trek involves around 786 steps.

Alternatively, you can take the ropeway, which covers the same climb in a fraction of the time.

Mansa Devi travel details:

The exact price depends on the package and combo option chosen.

The temple is one of Haridwar’s Panch Tirth, or five essential pilgrimage sites.

It remains one of the most visited haridwar temples year-round.

Chandi Devi Temple

Sitting atop Neel Parvat at roughly 600 meters elevation, Chandi Devi is located on the opposite bank of the Ganga from Mansa Devi.

It can be reached by a steeper 45-minute trek or a ropeway ride that takes just 5 to 10 minutes.

Chandi Devi travel details:

Many pilgrims opt for a combined Mansa Devi plus Chandi Devi ticket.

This typically works out cheaper than buying each ropeway ticket separately.

Founded in the 8th century by the philosopher Adi Shankaracharya, this temple is considered a Siddh Peeth.

It forms part of Haridwar’s sacred shaktipeeth circuit alongside Mansa Devi and Maya Devi.

Maya Devi Temple

One of the oldest temples in Haridwar and considered a Siddhpeeth in its own right, Maya Devi Temple sits centrally in the city.

This makes it easy to combine with a Har Ki Pauri visit. While you are in the city center, it is also worth trying some of the Haridwar street food the area is known for.

It offers a quieter, more contemplative stop compared to the busier ghats and hilltop temples elsewhere in the city.

Bharat Mata Mandir

Bharat Mata Mandir is an unusual, multi-storey temple.

Each floor is dedicated to a different aspect of India.

Inside the temple, you will find representations of:

• India’s freedom fighters
• Mountains
• Rivers depicted in relief and sculpture

This makes it a distinctive stop beyond the typical Haridwar temple circuit.

Rajaji National Park

Just outside the city, Rajaji National Park offers jeep safaris through forest trails.

It provides a strong contrast to the temple-heavy pace of the rest of a Haridwar itinerary.

Wildlife you may spot includes:

• Elephants
• Leopards
• A wide range of birdlife

It is a good addition if you have an extra half day and want a break from temple sightseeing.

Suggested One-Day Route

A practical sequence for a full day starts with the Mansa Devi ropeway before midday.

Both Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi typically have a midday darshan break lasting roughly two hours.

A practical route for the day:

Starting early helps you visit Mansa Devi before the midday break.

From there, head to Chandighat for the Chandi Devi ropeway once it reopens in the early afternoon.

Return to Har Ki Pauri in time for the evening Ganga Aarti, which makes for a natural, satisfying close to the day.

Getting to Haridwar and Getting Around

Haridwar is well connected by rail, with Haridwar Junction serving as a major station on multiple north Indian routes.

By road, it sits roughly 215 km from Delhi and about 30 to 35 km from Rishikesh.

Travel distances:

This makes Haridwar and Rishikesh an easy combined trip for most travelers.

Within the city, most of the major temples and ghats sit close enough together that walking, combined with occasional short auto-rickshaw rides, comfortably covers the whole circuit.

You generally do not need a full-day taxi hire, unlike more spread-out destinations elsewhere in Uttarakhand.

Best Time to Visit Haridwar

October through March brings the most comfortable weather for temple visits and ghat walks.

Cool mornings and pleasant daytime temperatures are well suited to a full day of sightseeing on foot.

Summer, from April through June, can make the uphill treks to Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi genuinely tiring if you skip the ropeway option.

Monsoon season affects how close to the water pilgrims are permitted to go at certain ghats.

However, the Ganga Aarti itself continues year-round regardless of season. For a full month-by-month breakdown, see our guide on the best time to visit Haridwar.